US citizens blocked from leaving China return home after three years
Beijing had denied that those arrests were linked
Two American siblings prevented from leaving China since 2018 returned to the United States over the weekend, according to a US official, their release by Beijing coming shortly after the United States ended a legal case against a top Huawei executive.
Cynthia and Victor Liu returned to America after more than three years during which they were not allowed to leave China under an "exit ban" despite not facing criminal allegations. Their father, former bank official and fugitive Liu Changming, is wanted in China to face fraud charges.
The exit of the two Americans followed an agreement that allowed Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou to return to China from Canada after US prosecutors dropped a fraud case against her.
Within hours of the news of the deal, two Canadians who were arrested shortly after Meng was taken into custody were released from Chinese detention and sent back to Canada.
Beijing had denied that those arrests were linked.